


Westeros Grocer

by poutingsliver



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Eventual Relationships, Jon Isn't Related To The Starks, Multi, Sibling Love, Underage Drinking, lots of shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-04-18 05:39:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4694090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poutingsliver/pseuds/poutingsliver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyrion Lannister opens Westeros Grocer, and hires a bunch of teens to work for him. Brienne is convinced he's trying to make his own personal soap opera.</p>
<p>Or,</p>
<p>Tyrion owns a store. Shae is a baker. Bronn is a butcher. Arianne is a pharmacist. The kids need money and Tyrion loves some good drama.</p>
<p>Grocery Store AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Now Open -  Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Why did I even write this?
> 
> Pardon any mistakes.

Westeros Grocer or the "WG" had only been open for a week but being that it was the town of Westeros' only grocery store it was quite busy. The last grocery store in Westeros had closed down a few months ago which meant if you wanted groceries you'd have to make the trip over to the next town, Essos, and according to most people that was just too time consuming. Eventually someone finally realised that a grocery store would be a profitable business resulting in the opening of the WG. That person was Tyrion Lannister the owner of Westeros Grocer.

Tyrion had carefully picked his employees. Most of them teenagers who came into work after school but there was a few full time employees. Those employees were, Bronn who was the store's butcher but ran the Deli when the kids were at school, Brienne who was head of grocery department but worked the cash registers when needed, Arianne who managed the pharmacy, Shae who ran the bakery until school was over, and Podrick who managed the whole grocery department whilst the kids were at school. In the first week they found it only somewhat manageable and were relieved when the kids started to show up at around 3:30.

The rest of the workers were what made the grocery store interesting. There was Sansa who worked in the bakery. Robb who managed the frozen food section. Jon who worked in the Deli. Daenerys in the pharmacy. Myrcella and Margeary on checkout. Then there was Theon, Asha, Arya, Loras, Meera, and Sam in the rest of the grocery department, they went around stocking and cleaning and really anything else. Most of the grocery department were trained for all departments so they could help out were needed.

Today was a Friday meaning it was busier than most days, it also meant the store was open until 12 tonight. Though most of the kids would leave at 11, only Robb, Dany, Sansa, Jon, a person from checkout and a person from grocery, plus Brienne who was responsible for opening and closing the place in the absence of Tyrion, would stay straight until close.

Tonight was also one of the few nights were almost all the kids worked. The only ones with the night off were Loras, and Meera.

Myrcella was the first to arrive, a swing in her step, her blonde waves thrown into a hastily done bun. She sent a wave and an entirely too cheery smile towards Brienne, who was dealing with the large queue gathered at her register.

She disappeared into the employeee lounge, presumably to put her coat and bag away. A few minutes passed before Myrcella re-emerged with her uniform and nametag on.

She once again smiled at Brienne and the customers before moving toward Lane 2. Brienne managed a grateful smile before turning to the next customer in line.

"Can I help whose next?" Myrcella asked the customers while removing the "Lane Closed" sign.

It wasn't long before Margeary arrived, uniform on and bag no where to be seen, meaning she was able to head straight to Lane 3. Margeary was by far the best cashier, so the long queue didn't bother her and she easily went through customers, chatting them up as they went by. 

In the time it took for the crowd to slightly diminish the girls missed the arrival of Robb, Theon, Asha and Sam. Not that anyone really interacted much with eachother except the ones who were siblings. Myrcella would love to be interacting with Robb, though being in very different departments there wasn't much time to talk. Anyone with eyes could tell Margeary had the hots for Sansa, well actually it seemed only Myrcella noticed and that was largely due to the fact that on slow days Margeary ogled Sansa.

The queue, or lack thereof, prompted both Margeary and Myrcella to tell Brienne she was welcome to go back to grocery if she was uncomfortable at the register which it was obvious she was. So Brienne disappeared into the isles after making the girls promise they'd retrieve her if needed.

Daenerys came in then, earbuds in, looking grumpy. Neither of the girls offered her a smile. Daenerys was one of the employees that no one really knew anything about, and it didn't help that she always looked ready to murder someone. 

When Daenerys was safely passed and both girls had a lull in customers Margeary spoke.

"Hey, Cella?"

"Yeah Marg?"

She bit her lip, "Could you possibly stay 'till close tonight?"

Myrcella internally groaned, "Yep no problem"

She broke into her signature grin, "Your the best! There's this party tonight and Loras is going and I promised him I'd get there as soon as possible."

"Who's party?" Not that Myrcella really cared.

Marg snorted, "Hell if I know." 

Myrcella rolled her eyes fondly. In the last week she really had grown to like Margeary, at first she had found the brunette intimidating but now she found her quite endearing.

The Stark girls came in next, both looking exasperated with the other. They were whisper arguing with eachother. The girls were to far away to hear what they were saying, but eventually Sansa threw her hands up in the air and marched off towards the bakery. Marg suppressed a laugh at Arya's dramatic eye roll.

Seeing the two girls watching Arya gave a slight scowl before disappearing into the lounge. Myrcella blushed, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping, she hardly knew Arya.

She still found it hard to believe that Arya, the short girl with the dark hair and smudged eyeliner, was a Stark. From what Myrcella had seen the Stark's were tall, ginger, polite, friendly, hardworking, and complete rule abiding citizens, while Arya was small, rebellious, had a laxadasical work ethic, and was impolite bordering on rude. So it's safe to say Myrcella was alarmed when she found Arya was actually Arya Stark.

Myrcella did a mental count and discovered all the workers were here for the night, and that Shae and Podrick should be leaving momentarily. 

She heard Margeary groan as another round of customers made they're way to the checkout.

They were in for a long night


	2. Vomit and Favours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya hates work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter because I've been busy with school.
> 
> Again sorry for mistakes, I took a bunch of cold medicine and I'm like half asleep.
> 
> So anyway thanks for reading.

Arya was either on the verge of tears or on the verge of a murdering spree. The latter was the more likely option, tears would definitely ruin her punk rock vibe.

She had been mopping up vomit for the last ten minutes. Several coworkers had the audacity to laugh at her. Asha had nearly doubled over in laughter wiping tears as she walked away. She'd even seen Daenerys let out a quick chuckle after spotting her mopping up the sick, that had made Arya feel more accomplished than angry because Daenerys hardly ever showed emotion.

Forget a murder spree, the tears were definitely on there way after Arya spotted a chunk of what looked like carrot in the vomit. 

She wondered why she even took this job. Her parents had been astonished when Arya accepted their proposal for her to apply here. The only reason she had was that she was finding it increasingly harder to scrounge enough money for her fencing lessons.

She had kept her fencing lessons a secret from her family since she started them in gr.9. At first she had kept them a secret because she was embarrassed and didn't know how everyone would react. Now they stayed a secret because in a family that everyone knew every single thing about eachother Arya found it was nice to have something to her self.

Arya felt like doing a victory dance when the rest of the vomit was cleaned up, instead she marched away from the scene as quick as possible. After returning the mop to the cleaning closet, she decided she deserved a break, which to her meant walking around the store pretending to do work which was actually what she did all the time anyway.

No one could blame her for slacking off. She had an incredibly busy schedule. Arya had two jobs, this one, and one at Reed's Fry Shack.

Reed's Fry Shack was not only a well paying job, but she got all the free food she wanted. Her co-workers were also amazing. Renly, who was working to save money for college after his brother cut him off, was a full time employee. Ygritte, a high school drop out who was trying to pay for an apartment, was an unreliable employee but a good person. Missandei, who was shy at first but had turned out to be very outgoing, was who Arya often worked with. Gendry, who Arya had convinced Howland to hire, only worked weekends. Jojen and Meera also worked there but only when needed. Arya worked there more often than the WG.

Arya groaned when she saw Asha striding purposefully towards her. No conversation with Asha ever went the way you wanted it to.

"Stark!" She barked. Everything Asha said sounded like a bark, it was very unsettling.

Arya swallowed her slight fear of Asha and looked around in mock confusion.

"Me?" Arya asked innocently.

She could see Asha's gritted teeth. "Who else would I be talking to?"

"Oh I don't know maybe Robb or Sansa, who both happen to be Stark's"

Asha rolled her eyes like she did it for a living. Which living with Theon she probably did. "I came to tell you that your going to be staying until close tonight."

Arya was outraged. "What that's not fair! I have things to do, why can't you do it?" 

"You were last here and what kinda important things could someone like you being doing?"

Arya didn't have any place to be tonight but she needed to get a good sleep. She had work tomorrow at 10 and a fencing tournament at 7 tomorrow night and if she won it would go into Sunday. But she didn't need to tell Asha that.

"Ugh fine!"

Asha smiled sweetly, well as sweetly as someone who is such an utter bitch can muster. Sending one last triumphant look at Arya, Asha stalked off to do whatever it is she does at the WG.

The thought of Arya's fencing tournament reminded her she had to talk to Jon. She needed a ride to the event and there was only four people that knew about Arya's fencing, so her options for a chauffeur were limited. Ygritte had a party tomorrow night for a close friend of hers that was up north in her home town, so she was a no. Missandei had to work all day tomorrow but was taking Arya on Sunday (if she made it, which she would) so she was also a no. Gendry didn't even have a car, so that left only Jon.

Walking toward the Deli she couldn't help but chuckle at Jon's man bun. Jon saw and shook his head dissaprovingly. 

Arya leaned against the glass display case and cut right to the chase.

"I need a favour."

Jon sighed. "Y'know you could maybe start with "Oh hey Jon how's your night going? What are you doing this weekend? How's life?" maybe just be polite"

Arya raised her eyebrows. "Why would I ask you those things when I know the answer. Your nights been shit. Your doing nothing this weekend. And your life is positively boring. However I do know how you can fix one of those things."

Jon sighed. "And how is that?"

Arya leaned in close as if telling a secret. "You could drive me to my fencing tourney."

"Only if I can stay to watch it."

Arya tapped a finger to her lips, pretending to consider it.

"You've got yourself a deal, Snow." 

Arya smiled widely holding out a hand for him to shake. Jon took it somewhat wearily. 

"If that's all, you should really get back to your job." Jon said already turning back to his work station.

Arya stuck her tongue out as she left. She walked back into grocery, preparing to pretend to work for a few more hours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any other characters you'd like me to add?
> 
> Another chapter (hopefully) tomorrow focusing on Sansa.


	3. Cupcakes and Sexualities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa attempts to get through the shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone was wondering here are the kids grades. Obviously ages are changed for convenience of the story. (I'm going by how school works where I live.)  
> Out of School - Renly, Asha  
> Grade 13 - Theon  
> Grade 12 - Jon, Robb, Dany, Missandei  
> Grade 11 - Sansa, Margeary, Gendry, Shireen  
> Grade 10 - Arya, Meera, Myrcella  
> Grade 9 - Rickon, Bran, Jojen
> 
> Btw this universe is just like ours but with the addition of the town of Westeros and the town of Essos so pop culture is still the same.

Sansa smiled politely as she placed the customers cake into a box. Handing the box over she snuck a look at the clock. Her smile became genuine when she saw that there was almost an hour left in her shift. Once the customer left Sansa began to idly tap her fingers on the glass display case, boredom seeping into her.

Her station was already spotless, Shae hadn't left until it was, and Sansa was skilled in retaining the cleanliness. At around ten the flow of customers steadily dropped, meaning Sansa had nothing to do.

Sansa enjoyed her job at the WG, it was a second job for her but Sansa had always been good at balancing her schedules so it wasn't a problem. Her other job was not exactly a job but a co-op with a law firm in Essos. The law firm, called R'hollor and Ahai, was run by a stern but kind women name Melisandre. There was two other girls taking the co-op with Sansa, Mya Stone a charismatic girl who often acted as if everything was a joke, and Shireen Baratheon a solemn hardworking girl with a scarred face. Sansa adored those girls, even if they'd only been working together for a month.

Sansa had found her passion for law only last year. She was still on the fence about what field she'd like to branch into, she was between family and corporate. R'hollor and Ahai focused on both criminal and corporate, but she still had time to decide on her chosen field.

Sansa found herself once again wiping down the counters despite them being spotless. She thought of the work sitting on her desk that Melisandre had asked her to proofread and felt herself groan.

She looked around the store, attempting to fill her time. She saw Asha giving Theon a smack to the back of his head, Sansa was sure he deserved it by the hint of a smirk on his face. She saw Arya chatting up one of the store's regular customers, a business man who seemed to take a liking to Arya, she frowned at that wondering if Arya knew he was flirting with her. Sansa didn't dwell much on that, at least not yet, Arya was one of the smartest people she knew, Arya knew exactly what she was doing. 

Instead she found her eyes wondering to Margeary Tyrell, also known as the source of her sexuality crisis. Sansa had always just assumed she was straight, she never thought about the possibility she wasn't. When Sansa had first met Margeary at the beginning of high school she thought she just wanted to be friends with the Tyrell girl. They weren't friends, but they had had a few classes together, and the first time Sansa had imagined kissing her was when she realised maybe she should rethink her sexuality.

And now Sansa was terrified. Terrified to tell somebody, and terrified of her feelings. It wasn't really a question of whether or not she was straight anymore, it was more what to do with that information. She'd love to tell people if only she knew how they'd react. The urge to tell someone got stronger everytime a relative teased her about boys, or someone talked about her future wedding and kids. She had made the decision last week to tell Arya first, but Sansa had yet to get an opportunity.

She watched as Margeary began to close her station. She was laughing with Myrcella about something, her curls bouncing along her back. She turned and caught Sansa's eye, Margeary sent one of her signature smiles towards her and waved. Sansa's face flushed to match her hair and she returned the smile albeit more embarrassed than Margeary's was. Margeary turned back to say her goodbyes to Myrcella before sending one last look towards Sansa, and with a flip of her hair she was gone.

Margeary absence was disappointing, but Sansa knew it meant closing time was soon. She watched Sam and Bronn leave aswell, followed by Asha and Theon who were in the midst of a heated argument that seemed to be about McDonald's.

It wasn't until half past eleven that Arianne left. Daenerys came to the bakery then, her silver hair in a long braid down her back. She walked towards Sansa almost hesitantly.

"Can I get a box of cupcakes?" Daenerys smiled, and Sansa wonders if this was the first time she'd ever seen her smile.

Sansa holds back her surprise. "Of course. How's your shift been?"

"Great, Arianne and I get along well. She's my sister-in-laws niece so I know her quite well. And how was your shift?" Daenerys smile never left her face. 

Sansa was pleasantly surprised. She had come to the conclusion that Daenerys was, well, a bit of a bitch. Sansa had actually nicknamed her Elsa (not because of the hair, that was just a bonus) because she had seemed so cold and distant. Sansa felt guilty for making those presumptions without even talking to the poor girl, she would try to make up for it by befriending her.

She got to work retrieving the cupcakes, and sent a smile towards Daenerys. "Work is work, though it's far better than my other job."

"And where's your other job?" It seemed like she was genuinely interested.

"Well actually it's a co-op program at a law firm in Essos. R'hollor and Ahai."

Her face light up in recognition. "Oh! Melisandre is an excellent lawyer, Dad used to use her all the time. Is that what you want to do then?" 

"Yeah," She placed the cupcakes on the counter. "Though I'm still deciding which field. What about you? What do you want to do?"

"Well the family business is pharmaceuticals so I'll likely either run the business or become a pharmacist." Daenerys said it in a resigned tone as if she'd been told it a million times. "But I love music and acting so, who knows?"

Sansa smiled brightly hoping it conveyed support to the girl she barely knew. She knew what it was like to have someone tell you what to do with your life, it was a suffocating feeling.

They stood there a moment contemplating their own problems before Daenerys jumped a little.

"Right, the cupcakes." She pulled her wallet out and handed some money over to Sansa. "Thanks."

She grabbed the cupcakes off the counter. She turned, heading back toward her station.

"Have a nice night Daenerys." 

Daenerys turned around. "You can call me Dany. If you'd like."

"Alright then." Sansa smiled, "Goodnight Dany."

Dany gave a triumphant nod. She turned and continued walking back but not without calling "'Night Sansa" over her shoulder.

Sansa found that the smile was still plastered to her face, she had a feeling Dany (no more calling her Elsa) and her would become friends.

After the encounter with Elsa (it was going to take a lot to kick that from her system) the time until closing went by incredibly fast, and soon she found herself walking out the door with her siblings. Brienne waved them all off as she locked up the store.

Sansa watched the other employees clear out, Dany hopping on her motorcycle, and Myrcella yelling at the people inside the car that had stopped to pick her up.

Jon usually rode with Robb to work, and tonight was one of those nights. So they all climbed into Robb's car, Arya and Jon in the back and Sansa riding shotgun.

When they pulled out of the parking lot Robb asked, "Anyone have plans tonight?"

Sansa shrugged. "There's a pile of work on my desk just calling my name."

Sansa expected a rebuttal from Arya stating how lame she was but it didn't come, instead Robb took Arya's place. 

"Oh c'mon San! There's so many good parties tonight!"

Sansa just shook her head.

Robb groaned. "What about you Arya?"

"Nah. I'm going home to bed." She said unapologetically.

Robb looked outraged. "Jon?"

Guilt played across Jon's face, he opened his mouth to try and speak and when nothing but a 'Ehh' sound came out he ended up just scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"Fine! I'll just call Theon then."

Arya laughed. "You do that."

The rest of the car ride was silent, though it didn't matter much as it only took a few minutes to get to Jon's house. When they arrived there, Jon's mother Elle came out to have a brief chat with them.

Elle was a nice woman, who had been like a member of the Stark family growing up. Her and Lyanna used to spend most of their time together and after Lyanna's disappearance she became close with both Ned and Catelyn. That was also why Jon was so close with the Stark's. 

After saying goodbye to Elle and Jon, it only took them a few more minutes to get home. Robb dropped Sansa and Arya off before heading to wherever Theon was.

When the got into the house Arya disappeared without a word. Sansa, instead of doing the work she needed to get done, ended up curled on the sofa between Bran and Rickon, with a Doctor Who marathon playing on TV. 

As Sansa sat with her head on Rickon's shoulder she thought about the pile of paperwork and how she was dreading work tomorrow. But for now she could just enjoy Clara Oswald's cute outfits and the beauty that was Jenna Coleman (and wonder how she ever thought she liked boys).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, getting to know Sansa and a little bit of Dany.
> 
> Next chapter we have Arya's other job, meeting Missandei, and the fencing tournament.
> 
> I think I've decided on all the relationships but any friendships you'd like me to add/focus on?
> 
> Also any suggestions on things that should happen?
> 
> (Also thanks so much for all the feedback, you guys are really nice.)


	4. Grease and Booze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya and Missandei enjoy a greasy day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter that is rushed and really bad. So I'm really sorry.

The smell of grease instantly assaulted Arya's nostrils as soon as she entered the fry shack. 

Arya, to almost everyone's surprise, was a morning person. She enjoyed waking up at the crack of dawn just to watch the sunrise, and found getting up for school effortless. The rest of her family, however, were a different story. Sansa's phone had six alarms set up though she often slept through them anyway, Robb being the typical boy he was rolled out of bed five minutes before needing to get on the bus, and Rickon was often late for school or even missed the whole morning due to sleeping in.

This morning though, Arya was in a foul mood. Robb had come home very late last night with Theon, both completely drunk and singing a Taylor Swift song. Usually she didn't mind disturbances in her sleep, but she needed to be well rested for her tournament.

"Morning hun." Missandei looked cheery from where she stood blanching fries.

Arya put aside her remaining irritation and sent a genuine smile toward Missandei. 

"Nice hair." 

Missandei had her faux locs pinned up with a bandanna tied around her head. Arya had always been somewhat envious of Missandei's effortless beauty, and how she pulled of a septum piercing.

"Thanks, sweetie. I had forgotten you hadn't seen it." Missandei constantly called people pet names at first Arya had found it a little strange but now she actually enjoyed it.

Arya got to work stocking the fridge and opening the front window. The first customer came not long after but it was never very busy in the morning which gave Arya and Missandei plenty of time to talk.

"Did Ygritte leave yet?" Arya asked while loading her poutine with gravy.

Missandei nodded "I covered her shift last night so she could leave early. I'll be honest I'm worried about her going on such a long ride alone is she gonna be okay?"

"Ah," Arya waved her hand dismissively "She'll be fine. Besides you saw how excited she was to see Val and Tormund again, I think this will be good for her. This could be what she needs."

Missandei and Arya shared a sad smile thinking about Ygritte's life. The high school drop-out had a rough home life and the absence of her northern friends had really damaged her.

"Anyway, how are you getting to the tourney tonight?"

"I'm getting Jon to drive me." Arya said shoving loads of poutine into her mouth.

"I don't understand how nobody in your family knows about your fencing or why you haven't told them. What are you going to tell them tonight?"

"That Jon and I are going to see a movie." Arya had a smile on her face proud of her ability to lie (which was slightly disconcerting). 

Missandei rolled her eyes. "Wait," She scrunched her face together in thought "Is Jon gonna be there tomorrow?"

"Yep. Well your driving us, so only if you wanna take him."

"Oh thank goodness. Believe me hun I love your competitions but it's always nice to have someone else to talk to."

At the arrival of another the dropped there conversation and got back to work. Arya enjoyed working at Reed's Fry Shack and she was actually quite skilled at flipping burgers. In the time she'd worked here poutine had become her speciality, apparently everyone in Westeros loved her poutine.

It wasn't until a few hours later when the next slow period came. They were leaning against the counter both sipping Pepsi's when Missandei's phone startled them both.

Fumbling a little Missandei answered it making sure to put it on speaker "Hello?"

"Sup ladies!" Came Ygritte's overly loud voice through the iPhone's speaker.

"Hey Ygritte!" Arya replied, equally as loud "Did you arrive safely?"

"Yeah yeah. But that's not why I'm calling. Do you know Loras Tyrell?"

Missandei nodded but Arya replied "Yeah I work with him."

"Well anyway he's throwing a huge party tonight and since I can't be there you have to be there."

There was a simultaneous eye roll from the girls standing in the fry shack 

"Nope," Missandei shook her head.

"Why not?" Ygritte's voice had took on a whiny tone now.

"One: because Arya has plans. Two: because neither of us have ever spoke to Loras Tyrell. And," Missandei looked a little sheepish "Three: how would we get booze."

Ygritte laughed "Ask Greyjoy."

"Well-"

Missandei was cut off by Arya "No! Nope. Never in a million years. Theon would tell Robb. Robb would tell my parents. And then Arya Stark would be nothing but memory." She paused "Because I would be dead."

Arya's parents didn't mind her going to parties as long as she didn't drink. Which she usually did but hid it from her family (which was especially hard if Robb and Sansa were at the same party as her because she knew they would tell their parents in an instant). Ygritte was always her alcohol provider so she had an easier time of concealing her drinking.

"You could call Renly. He'd buy it for you if you invited him to come with you." Ygritte said after a minute of thinking.

Missandei and Arya shared a look, considering it. Missandei raised an eyebrow silently asking if Arya could handle a party and a tournament. Arya nodded.

"Yeah, let's do it. You wanna call Renly for us?" Arya asked Ygritte.

"Yep, will do. You guys are gonna have so much fun!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we have Loras' party, where we'll potentially get some LorasxRenly and SansaxMargaery.
> 
> If you have an idea's for the story feel free to comment.
> 
> Come chat with me on Tumblr http://beilke.tumblr.com/


	5. Parties and Invitations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party at the Tyrell's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just noticed I've been spelling Margaery's name wrong this whole time, so that's a little embarrassing. Also I am so sorry for the wait and the fact I completely fucked up the writing tense but I almost tore my hair out trying to change it and eventually just gave up. I'm sure you're all about to notice the shit quality of this but the next chapter will be way better. Hopefully?

The elation of making it to day 2 in the fencing tournament has faded significantly by the time they reach the Tyrell house, and by then all Arya wants to do is go home. The only thing stopping her from telling Jon to turn around and take her home is the fact that Missandei and Renly are inside waiting. Arya's a lot of things, asshole is not one of them and abandoning her friends would be the asshole thing to do. 

Her and Jon park a little ways down the street and both can tell the party is in full swing. Cars line the street and the pounding of the music can be heard from their spot down the street. 

Arya pulls out her phone to send Missandei a quick text alerting her of their arrival. Jon's not drinking as he's the designated driver and as Arya has a very important tournament the next day getting drunk is completely out of the question for her. They came more for socializing and for Arya to maybe sneak a few beers in.

Her and Jon enter the house, overwhelmed by the noise and the amount of people crammed into it. They weave their way through the throng of people trying to locate Missandei and Renly. They're standing in a corner, a red solo cup in Missandei's hand and a Budweiser in Renly's, both are flushed from the alcohol and look to be enjoying themselves. Arya can't help but laugh as she takes in Renly's appearance. Jon, Missandei, and Renly all look at her like she's mad as she doubles over. 

Missandei's eyebrows knit together until she snaps her fingers together in realization, "Right! I had the same reaction!"

Arya wipes tears from her eyes as the boys still look equally confused. It takes a moment for Arya to compose herself before she finally speaks.

"You growing a beard now, Ren?"

Renly rubs his beard in offence, "My beard happens to look incredible." 

Arya snorts, "Yeah. Right."

Renly looks like he's about to say more but Missandei cuts him off by handing Arya a beer. 

"Congrats, by the way hun. We all knew you'd make it."

Renly coughs and mutters, "I had my doubts."

Missandei gives him a good natured smack on the back of the head, and Arya finds herself once again laughing. 

"Are any if my siblings here?" She asks.

"Sansa is, I saw her with," Renly ponders it for a moment, "that, you know, the Targaryen or something, girl." 

"Helpful as always, Ren." Arya says sarcastically.

It takes Jon and Arya a little while to get into the party mood but eventually someone comes around asking for teams to join a beer pong tournament. Since Jon isn't drinking and Missandei's aim is shit that leaves Arya and Renly to team up. 

"Renly I swear if you fuck this up and ruin my title as beer pong champ, I will ruin you." Arya says wagging her finger in Renly's face to emphasize her point.

They slowly make their way over to the tables, Jon and Missandei going to sit on the spectator couches and Arya and Renly filling up their cups. 

There first opponents turn out to be Joffery Baratheon and a boy neither Arya or Renly know. Renly makes a sound of embarrassment as he realises he's facing his nephew, but Arya gives him a quick pep talk to get him ready. Of course they dominate the pair, easily destroying them with only one of their cups taken out. 

Missandei and Jon cheer for them on the sidelines. Renly and Arya give eachother a quick high five before downing the rest of their cups for fun. 

When another pair of teams come to take their place, Arya and Renly head over to a table full of drinks. As they're walking over Renly halts when he sees a beautiful brunette boy.

"Who the hell is that?" He whispers urgently to Arya.

She looks around confused before catching sight of the boy, "Loras?" She turns in confusion towards Renly but backpedals when she sees the look on his face.

"No! Nuh uh. Don't even bother. He is most definitely straight not to mention way out of your league. He is literally one of the most popular boys at my school and rumour has it he's now the heir to the Tyrell fortune. So please don't even try."

Renly's quiet for a while and Arya starts to worry she should've let him down easier.

Renly finally fixes Arya with a raised eyebrow and says with his most serious voice, "Y'know I can seduce anyone, right?"

Arya gives him a well deserved smack to the back of the head.

SANSA 

Sansa has been hanging out lazily in the Tyrell backyard with her new friend Dany for about an hour now and she can still hear the sounds of the party inside. She had hoped to run into Margaery tonight but since that has yet to happen she's perfectly content to lazily drink beer and braiding Dany's hair. Sansa is quite surprised at how fast they'd become friends but decides she's just gonna roll with it, what's the worst that can happen?

"Sansa," Dany says turning to Sansa with bright eyes like she's just had an idea, "you should totally come with me to this fencing tournament tomorrow! A friend of mine is participating in it and as fun as it is to watch it goes on for hours and some company would be appreciated. Please?"

Sansa smiles, "Sure! It could be fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we FINALLY get to something interesting!
> 
> Any ideas for the story or characters you want me to add? Feel free to tell me in the comments.


	6. Competitions and Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya's fencing tournament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit it has been so long but I'm back.

Arya awoke the next day with an atrocious hangover and the slight urge to throttle Renly for encouraging her to drink. Urges like that tended to pass without incident, excluding the time she smacked Theon Greyjoy with a frying pan (she still remembers the satisfying crunch of metal against skull) that was the one time she let her anger get a little bit out of control. 

Arya paced around her room anxious for the competition. What if she lost? Arya Stark did not take well to losing. She pushed that thought aside, losing was out of the question. 

She opened her phone after hearing the ping and after reading Missandei's text of 'B there in 5' she hastily tossed her equipment in a bag and was on her way out.

Luckily for her the family was usually gone Sunday mornings, Catelyn to church often times dragging Rickon and if she could manage it Bran aswell, Sansa probably out for her weekly brunch with Jeyne Poole, Ned to visit Robert, and Robb most likely with Theon, so nobody would be asking her questions. That was great since the whole fencing thing was Arya's secret.

She quickly slipped on a pair shoes and remembered to set the alarm as she exited the front door. The bright sun immediately assaulted her and she winced. Her discomfort turned to a smile when she saw Jon and Missandei lip syncing to a song, waiting for her in the car.

Climbing into the car, she said a quick greeting to her closest friends before groping for a pair of sunglasses to somewhat eleviate her ever growing headache.

Jon, the wonderful person he was, seemed to notice her struggle and took his own pair of Ray Bahn's of his face to toss toward Arya.

As she shoved them hastily onto her face, she rubbed her temple, and said, disgruntled, "Thanks."

Missandei's tinkling laugh filled the car.

"Someone's a little hungover," she sing songed, pulling off of the Stark's street of manicured lawns.

Arya grunted and her companions erupted into laughs.

"Just shut it will you " Arya grumbled, "And turn the music down so I can prepare."

Missandei clicked her tongue but with a shake of the head she turned the dial down. Arya gave a brief thumbs up before resting her head against the window.

‡

When midday arrived Arya had won all of her matches so far and Missandei and Jon were watching one of the other matches whilst she prepared.

Missandei sipped on a smoothie, sending occasional snapchats to Asha and Ygritte. She had sent a few to Renly but his lack of response inclined her to believe that he was still in bed which would make sense with how much he drank last night, yet she still continued to send him a few not wanting him to miss out.

Jon had a toque and his sunglasses on, pretending to pay attention but Missandei was starting to think he was just dozing off. 

Her suspicion was confirmed when his head slowly rested on her shoulder. She laughed gleefully and took a few selfies with her sleeping friend, sending them to Arya and Renly.

Missandei eventually put her phone down attemptibg to idly watch the current match. When the match seemed to be going nowhere her eyes strayed somewhat to the entrance of the sports centre. 

Just as she looked up she watched as two girls walked in, one with the unmistakable Tully hair. Missandei's jaw dropped.

Frantically she turned to Jon and began to shake him, "Wake up!"

Jon violently shook awake looking mildly disoriented, "I'm awake," he muttered.

He yawned, "Why am I awake though?" 

Missandei stared in Sansa's direction, who, if she wasn't mistaken, was accompanied by Daenerys Targaryen, and was beginning to feel dread coil in the pit of her stomach.

Jon seemed to catch sight of what she was looking at and he visibly deflated.

"Shit," he murmured.

Missandei chewed at her lip, "She's not supposed to be here right?"

"Nope," Jon was thinking, "Quick let's leave."

Jon began to stand in an attempt to flee but Missandei grabbed his wrist and shoved him into his seat.

She scoffed, "How does leaving fix this? It doesn't. We'll just sit here and make sure they don't see us."

Jon nodded looking doubtful but with extreme effort turned back to the match. Missandei tried to, but she was busy trying to relocate the two girls. Her efforts were futile because by the time she spotted them they were looking right at her.

The girls were walking down their row apparently coming to sit next to them.

Sansa smiled, "Missandei, Jon, what are you doing here?"

Dany and Sansa sat down looking expectantly at Jon and Missandei. The pair had identical deer in headlights expressions and kept flashing eachother panicked looks.

"Well, um," Missandei sputtered, "We're here because…. Jon why are we here?"

The look on his face was one of utter betrayal but he scraped through, "We're here because….. Missandei just loves fencing!"

Missandei returned Jon's look, feeling betrayed herself, before turning toward the girls and smiling widely, "That's right! I adore fencing, it's great. I love coming to things like this-"

Jon whispered in her ear, "Your selling it a bit too hard."

She smiled shakely and finished with, "They're fun."

Dany laughed, "A friend of mine, Daario, fences so I've grown to love it. I brought Sansa along because I hate to watch things alone."

Missandei chuckled nervously, and Jon attempted to pull his toque farther down his face to mask his embarrassment.

Luckily for Jon, Missandei, even when nervous, was great at small talk and effortlessly kept Sansa and Dany relatively busy as the matches continued.

Jon was tempted to text Arya to warn her but he knew her phone wouldn't be on her so all he could do was hope she wouldn't come out and reveal herself to Sansa.

Jon's hope was for naught. 

Arya advanced to the final match for first place and while the match to see who she was facing was taking place she found her way up next to Jon.

Unfortunately she hadn't noticed her sister sitting up beside them as she'd climbed the bleachers on the opposite side of where her sister sat. She sat down beside Jon without any of the girls noticing her.

Jon turned to her somewhat discreetly, a panicked look on his face. He shook his head frantically. Arya raised her eyebrows quizzically.

Jon sighed before leaning in and hissing, "Your sister is right there."

Arya's head whipped around so fast Jon might of laughed if Arya's secret wasn't about to be revealed. When Arya spotted her sister her eyes widened and she sputtered.

Jon heard 'shit' muttered numerous times as Arya attempted to discreetly sneak away.

Daenerys noticed her first, turning to Sansa she whispered, "Isn't that your sister?" 

Sansa turned to look, her expression turning confused as she spotted her sister sneaking away, "Arya?" She questioned.

Arya sat back down in her seat turning toward Sansa a look of resignation on her face, "Hi Sans."

Sansa's eyebrows furrowed, "What are you--" she takes in Arya's clothes before realizing it's the uniform worn under the fencing equipment, "Wait…oh my god, you're here fencing!" she accused.

Jon and Missandei winced simultaneously and Dany looked thoroughly confused.

Arya cringed, "I might have started fencing a while ago and kinda maybe kept it a secret?"

Sansa gaped at Arya, clearly offended, she stuttered grasping for words, "I--you--I'm telling mom!"

Jon, Missandei, and Dany all sighed.

‡

Arya won, though the trophy seemed insignificant when compared to Sansa's rage.

The redhead insisted on driving home with Jon, Missandei and Arya, for the sole reason of arguing with her sister. 

Sansa thought it was ridiculous that Arya wouldn't tell anyone and was also madder than hell. Arya realized that it was a poor decision but was probably the most stubborn person in Westeros so she argued with Sansa.

By the time they reached the Stark household, Missandei had a splitting headache and Jon was starting to worry someone might spill blood in his backseat.

Sansa climbed out of the car still arguing with her sister but instead of climbing out aswell Arya instead slammed the door and quickly locked it.

Arya turned to Jon frantically, "Drive!"

Sansa was shouting indiginantly outside the vehicle and Jon had the decency to throw her an apologetic look before speeding off.

Arya groaned, "Unless one of you is willing to let me move in with you, I am so hearing about this tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For being called Westeros Grocer there has been surprisingly few chapters in the grocery store so next chapter we head back there and to a different character.


	7. Issues and Breakdowns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied, we're still with Arya and still have a suspicious lack of Grocery Store shenanigans. Also when did I make Arya so angsty?

“Stop,” Arya groaned at Missandei.

Missandei grinned at her from her place at the grill, not stopping her horribly out of tune rendition of 'Barbie Girl'.

"You're just jealous of my stellar singing," Missandei said cheerfully as she flipped a burger.

Arya rolled her eyes, "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Missandei seemed to sense Arya's tense mood and managed to refrain from singing. After she handed the order out to a customer with a smile, she turned to Arya and frowned.

"Why are you upset?"

Arya scowled, "I'm not."

"If this is about your grounding," Missandei continued carefully, "Than I think you're overreacting because you definitely got off easy with a one week grounding considering you've been lying for months--"

Arya scoffed, "Nah I'm over that. Actually I'm pretty happy with how things worked out, Sansa was mad I wasn't punished more and now Dad wants to come see my events so win win."

Missandei raised an eyebrow expectantly, "So why are you angry?"

Arya groaned, slamming her head ungracefully down onto the counter, "Because Jon and Ygritte are watching a movie together."

Missandei was pleased with the response if not a little confused.

She pondered why that would be a problem as she went over to wash some dishes. Wednesday's were the slowest nights at Reed's Fry Shack but luckily Arya and Missandei worked them together so they used it as a chance to catch up. Not that they needed time to catch up since they spent the weekend at the fencing tournament together, stayed late at school on Monday to help a teacher together, had movie night together Tuesday (despite Arya's grounding), and then working together.

Missandei tried to think. Ygritte and Jon were Arya’s closest friends, she should be happy that they were hanging out, unless—Missandei grinned, “You’re jealous aren’t you?”

Arya looked at Missandei, startled. “What? No! Of course not.” She scoffed and diverted her eyes.

Missandei chuckled to herself but let it slide, “So what then?”

Arya huffed, “He didn’t invite me, and we’ve been planning to see this movie for months.” Though Arya seemed to try to hide it behind anger, Missandei could see the obvious hurt on her face.

Missandei decided the best course of action was comforting rather than teasing, she managed a sympathetic smile, “Maybe he just forgot?”

Arya turned to look out the window of the shack, covering the tears that threatened to spill, “Probably, everyone seems to forget me,”

Missandei’s mouth fell open, “Sweetie, that’s not true,”

Arya shrugged and plastered on an entirely false smile for the customer who arrived. They began to make the order in silence while Missandei contemplated the turn of events. She knew everyone had those days where they felt worthless or inadequate but she supposed she thought Arya had been immune to that kinda stuff. Missandei just hadn’t pictured tough as nails Arya Stark, thinking like that. She supposed it was hard living in a family with 5 children, especially when you’re considered the “black sheep”. Arya just didn’t seem the type to let things effect her, but Missandei guessed it got to everyone eventually.

‡

By the time Arya’s shift had ended her hurt had turned almost completely into anger. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was aware she might have been overreacting.

She knew she had self esteem problems. If she wanted to analyze it she could probably trace it back to Sansa’s cruel jokes and the belief that she wasn’t enough in her mother’s eyes. Yet Arya didn’t like to analyze stuff, so she ignored it. Most people had good and bad days, Arya Stark had almost all good days with _horrible_ days occasionally thrown in. Though most people believed she was set off at stupid insignificant things, really she let everything boil inside her before it became too much and overflowed.

The past little while for Arya had been too much, tiny insignificant events adding together to make one catastrophic meltdown.

When she entered the house, she ignored her sister and mother sitting on the couch and marched straight upstairs to her room. By that point everything was boiling into teeth gritting anger, causing her to slam the door. Posters fell to the ground at her feet and she fell to her knees. She began to crumple and tear them, her beloved posters.

She reached for the bed and tore of the covers, tossing them as well as someone can toss blankets at her dresser (Arya could toss anything aggressively). She heard the clatter of items falling to the floor, but couldn’t bring herself to care.

She reached for the next accessible thing on her bedside table and without looking heaved it toward the mirror attached to her dresser. The shatter was loud, so loud it shook Arya out of her fit of rage.

Arya began to cry when she saw what she had carelessly thrown and as a result shattered. It was a snow globe Jon had got her last Christmas, a beautiful one that played “I’ll be home for Christmas”.

“Arya!” Her mom shouted from downstairs, “What just happened?”

She quickly crawled toward her dresser picking up the shattered pieces of glass and mirror, she was in such a state she hardly noticed the cuts she was receiving. The mirror was also badly shattered but she hardly noticed compared to Jon’s gift.

She loved that gift and she’d carelessly destroyed it. She let out a sob.

She heard footsteps approaching her room, “Arya, mom wants to know what you just broke,” came Robb’s voice.

Arya hastily dropped the pieces of glass and turned to the door, only know noticing the blood that covered her hands.

Robb opened the door eye’s widening as he took in Arya’s disastrous room and bloody hands.

“What the,” he murmured before turning his head towards the stairs and shouting, “Mom!”

Arya slowly collapsed onto her carpeted floor in defeat as she heard her mother race up the stairs. The tears had subsided and all that remained was numbness.

Her mother gasped as she saw her. Catelyn approached her youngest daughter wearily, as if she was a skittish animal. She carefully took the young girl’s hands in her own, “Oh, Arya,” she murmured examining the several wounds that were going to need stitches.

Arya’s grey eyes were sad, “I’m sorry,”

Good days and horrible days were what made up Arya Stark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this is so dramatic, anyway I blame the songs I was listening to. Since I have been fixating on Arya I think this is a good place to leave her story while we jump to another character.
> 
> So which character to you want to hear from next?


End file.
